The foraging flanker from Aberdare took over the Wales Sevens captaincy for the 2012/13 IRB World Series season having shared the responsibility with Richie Pugh the previous season.

As a youngster he followed in his father Mike’s footsteps, progressing through the junior and youth ranks with his local club, Aberdare.

International honours followed for Wales at Under 16 and U17 level as Rhys gained a fearsome reputation as a hard hitting flanker, his route to senior rugby guiding him into the ranks of the Warriors Academy.

As an 18-year-old he featured for Wales at Under 19 FIRA level in the 2004 Six Nations and World Cup tournaments. Rhys made a number of appearances on dual registration for Pontypridd in the Premiership, before signing up on a permanent basis for the Sardis Road team at the commencement of the 2004/2005 campaign.

Rhys captained the Wales Under 21 team during the World Cup tournament of 2006 and joined Cardiff in 2008 before returning to Pontypridd at the beginning of the 2012-13 Premiership season.

Of the current Wales Sevens squad, no player has taken part in more tournaments on the World Series. And after the third round of the 2012-13 World Series, his tally of 33 tries has him 9th on the all time record list for Wales.